NOBODY has a better recent record than Luke ‘The Nuke’ Littler going into the 2024 Premier League.
The 17-year-old Cheshire superstar will head into his debut weekly arena campaign having reached the finals of his three maiden senior competitions, including winning the Bahrain Darts Masters on his World Series of Darts debut a fortnight ago.
‘The Nuke’, from Warrington, pushed Michael van Gerwen to the wire in the Dutch Darts Masters last week, and he took the global sporting scene by storm with his record-breaking PDC World Championship run.
And those came on the back of being crowned the PDC World Youth Champion and JDC Junior World Champion at the back end of 2023.
Now he heads to Cardiff for the first of 16 Premier League nights, with Luke Humphries being his first opponent tonight, Thursday, in the fourth quarter-final scheduled to start at 8.45pm.
A win would hand him a 9.45pm semi-final shot against Michael van Gerwen or Michael Smith, with the final to follow at 10.15pm – all live on Sky Sports.
Humphries narrowly defeated the former Padgate Academy student in the World Championship Final at Alexandra Palace last month, but Littler gained some revenge in beating the world number one on his way to facing Van Gerwen in a thrilling Dutch showdown on Saturday.
And for the Dutchman, it was revenge for the previous week’s loss to Littler in the Bahrain Darts Masters decider.
But all considered, Littler can take lots of confidence into Cardiff, despite the loss in Den Bosch, The Netherlands, and he will become the youngest ever Premier League competitor.
Schedule for PDC Premier League Night 1, Utility Arena, Cardiff:
Quarter-final 1: Peter Wright v Rob Cross, 7.15pm
Quarter-final 2: Gerwyn Price v Nathan Aspinall, 7.45pm
Quarter-final 3: Michael van Gerwen v Michael Smith, 8.15pm
Quarter-final 4: Luke Littler v Luke Humphries, 8.45pm
Semi-final 1: Winner of QF1 v winner of QF2, 9.15pm
Semi-final 2: Winner of QF 3 v winner of QF4, 9.45pm
Final: Winner of SF1 v winner of SF 2, 10.15pm
What Littler's saying about his debut Premier League campaign:
"It's been crazy. The World Championship has changed my life, and now I'm getting opportunities to play in Bahrain, Den Bosch and of course the Premier League.
"I'm really looking forward to it. I cannot wait for the next 16 weeks, and I think this experience will certainly help my game."
Story of 2024 so far for Luke Littler:
PDC World Darts Championship runner-up
Bahrain Darts Masters Champion, including first leg nine-darter in quarter-final
Dutch Darts Masters runner-up
Format for PDC Premier League nights 2024:
All matches will be best of 11 legs, with a £10,000 bonus on offer to each night’s winner.
Ranking points will also be awarded each night - with five to the winner, three to the runner-up and two to the semi-finalists - to form the league table from which the top four players will progress to the Play-Offs at The O2 in London on Thursday, May 23.
Schedule for Premier League Darts 2024, quarter final fixtures:
Night 1, Cardiff, February 1: Peter Wright v Rob Cross, Gerwyn Price v Nathan Aspinall, Michael van Gerwen v Michael Smith, Luke Littler v Luke Humphries.
Night 2, Berlin, February 8: Aspinall v Van Gerwen, Smith v Price, Littler v Cross, Humphries v Wright.
Night 3, Glasgow, February 15: Cross v Smith, Van Gerwen v Wright, Aspinall v Humphries, Price v Littler.
Night 4, Newcastle, February 22: Smith v Aspinall, Cross v Humphries, Wright v Littler, Price v Van Gerwen.
Night 5, Exeter, February 29: Humphries v Van Gerwen, Aspinall v Wright, Price v Cross, Littler v Smith.
Night 6, Brighton, March 7: Humphries v Price, Cross v Van Gerwen, Aspinall v Littler, Smith v Wright.
Night 7, Nottingham, March 14: Wright v Price, Humphries v Smith, Van Gerwen v Littler, Cross v Aspinall.
Night 8, Dublin, March 21: Fixtures confirmed following Night Seven.
Night 9, Belfast, March 28: Humphries v Littler, Smith v Van Gerwen, Aspinall v Price, Cross v Wright.
Night 10, Manchester, April 4: Aspinall v Cross, Littler v Van Gerwen, Smith v Humphries, Price v Wright.
Night 11, Birmingham, April 11: Wright v Humphries, Cross v Littler, Price v Smith, Van Gerwen v Aspinall.
Night 12, Rotterdam Ahoy, April 18: Smith v Littler, Cross v Price, Wright v Aspinall, Van Gerwen v Humphries.
Night 13, Liverpool, April 25: Littler v Price, Humphries v Aspinall, Wright v Van Gerwen, Smith v Cross.
Night 14, Aberdeen, May 2: Wright v Smith, Littler v Aspinall, Van Gerwen v Cross, Price v Humphries.
Night 15, Leeds, May 9: Van Gerwen v Price, Littler v Wright, Humphries v Cross, Aspinall v Smith.
Night 16, Sheffield, May 16: Fixtures confirmed following Night 15.
Play-Offs: The O2, London, May 23: The top four players after 16 nights.
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